Rheumatic heart disease prevalence around the worldBy: Fertility Treatment; Date Added.: Sep 17, 2010; The rate of development of rheumatic fever in individuals with untreated strep infection is estimated to be 3%. The incidence of recurrence with a subsequent untreated infection is substantially greater (about 50%).The rate of development is far lower in individuals who have received antibiotic treatment. Persons who have suffered a case of rheumatic fever have a tendency to develop flare-ups with repeated strep infections.Geographical distribution of Rheumatic heart diseaseUnited StatesRheumatic fever is fairly uncommon among children in the United States. Reports of incidence of rheumatic heart disease has decreased in the United States and other industrialized countries in the past 80 years. Prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in the United States now is less than 0.05 per 1000 population, with rare regional outbreaks reported in Tennessee in the 1960s and in Utah, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the 1980s. In the early 1900s, incidence was reportedly 5-10 cases per 1000 population. This decreased incidence of rheumatic fever has been attributed to the introduction of penicillin or a change in the virulence of theStreptococcus.InternationalIn contrast to trends in the United States, the incidence of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease has not decreased in developing countries. Retrospective studies reveal developing countries to have the highest figures for cardiac involvement and recurrence rates of rheumatic fever. Estimations worldwide are thatat least 15.6 million children and young adults have rheumatic heart disease, and 233,000 patients die from this disease each year.

Astudy of school children in Cambodia and Mozambique with rheumatic fever showedthat rheumatic heart disease prevalence when echocardiography is used for screeningis 10fold greater compared with the prevalence when clinical examinationalone is performed.The high frequency of RHD in the developing world necessitates aggressive prevention and control measures. The major interventions for prevention and control include: (1) reduction of exposure to group A streptococci, (2) primary prophylaxis to prevent initial episodes of RF, and (3) secondary prophylaxis to prevent recurrent episodes of RE. Because recurrent episodes of RF cause increasingly severe cardiac complications, secondary prophylaxis is the most crucial feature of an effective RHD program. For some impoverished countries, secondary prophylaxis may be the only intervention that can realistically be implemented.EthnicityNative Hawaiian and Maori (both of Polynesian descent) have a higher incidence of rheumatic fever (13.4 per 100,000 hospitalized children per year), even with antibiotic prophylaxis of streptococcal pharyngitis. Otherwise, race (when controlled for socioeconomic variables) has not been documented to influence disease incidence.SexRheumatic fever occurs in equal numbers in males and females, but the prognosis is worse for females than for males.AgeRheumatic fever is principally a disease of childhood, with a median age of 10 years, although it also occurs in adults (20% of cases).

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